- Dowry Calculator
-
DowryCalculator.com is a satirical website that parodies India's one of the most prominent and archaic societal evils -- Dowry. According to Sify, “The calculator mocks the varied factors that potential brides and grooms in the country have to consider in a traditional Indian marriage. The application demands one to fill in age, caste, profession, salary, father's occupation, skin tone (giving priority to fair skin and less importance to dark skin) and height among others to arrive at a whimsical "dowry rate" or dowry worth.”[1].
The website was launched on May 6, 2011 and was viral within a couple of hours of it being live. Consequently, it was one of the top trending topic in Twitter India.[2] [3]. It also garnered more than half a million hits within a month of it's launch [4] [5].Dedicated sardonically to 'all the match making aunties of India', the website has delineated how the younger generation of India has started rejecting the age old custom of Dowry and is even making a mockery of it [6] Besides mocking the dowry system, the application also pokes fun at some of the unhealthy obsession of the Indian society, for instance, IIT-ians, skin color, salary.etc [7] Dowry Calculator also comments on how certain professions have been linked traditionally to higher dowry demands.[8]
The website has been created by Tanul Thakur, an engineer of Indian origin working in United States.[9] TV9 (Telugu) news agency failed to comprehend the sarcasm in Dowrycalculator.com and wanted the cyber crime police to intervene and ban the website. [10][11]
References
- ^ Sriram, Ashwin (18 May 2011). "A satire on weddings, dowry and 'match-making aunties'". Sify. http://www.sify.com/news/a-satire-on-weddings-dowry-and-match-making-aunties-news-national-lfsvPBbghai.html.
- ^ Dechen, Tenzin (8 May 2011). "A net esti'mate'". Deccan Chronicle (Bengaluru). http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/bengaluru/net-esti%E2%80%98mate%E2%80%99-345.
- ^ Bhutia, Lhendup (12 June 2011). "How much will your pa-in-law pay you?". Mid Day (Mumbai). http://epaper2.mid-day.com/showtext.aspx?boxid=73133322&parentid=139809&issuedate=12062011&edd123=mumbai.
- ^ Mahale, Sneha (16 June 2011). "Satire app on dowry gets 5 lakh hits in a month". Hindustan Times (Mumbai). http://www.hindustantimes.com/Satire-app-on-dowry-gets-5-lakh-hits-in-a-month/Article1-710051.aspx.
- ^ Sharma, Vrinda (2 July 2011). "Now a website for dowry dealers". The Hindu (Chandigarh). http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2152324.ece.
- ^ Flock, Elizabeth (12 May 2011). "Dowry calculator pokes fun at Indian marriage tradition". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/dowry-calculator-pokes-fun-at-indian-marriage-tradition/2011/05/12/AF9SkI1G_blog.html.
- ^ Wadhwani, Sita (June 2,2011). "Dowry Calculator app: How much for an arranged marriage?". CNN. http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/life/behold-dowry-calculator-872055.
- ^ Dhillon, Amrit (11 June 2011). "What price wedded bliss? Indian lovers click and see". The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney). http://www.smh.com.au/world/what-price-wedded-bliss-indian-lovers-click-and-see-20110610-1fx21.html.
- ^ Sharma, Neha (25 May 2011). "Here’s how much dowry you’re worth". Hindustan Times (New Delhi). http://www.hindustantimes.com/Here-s-how-much-dowry-you-re-worth/Article1-701903.aspx.
- ^ TV9 - Dowry calculator pokes fun at Indian marriage tradition
- ^ TV9 - Dowry calculator pokes fun at Indian marriage tradition Part 2
External links
Categories:- Satirical websites
- Comedy websites
- Indian websites
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
